How did Geno become good?

[Lurker89]

Long marination.

[HawkeyeJet]

Geno has always been able to spin it, as the kids say.  He throws a great ball.  Just took him 7 years and multiple years on the bench in the same system for the game to slow down for him.

[David Harris]

3 hours ago, Untouchable said:

Don’t know and don’t really care 

Even if it’s sustainable, it took him a solid decade to reach this point and he’s 32.

He was a turnover prone douchebag when he was here and I have zero regrets over turning the page.

We now have a QB who is 10 years younger and hasn’t even scratched the surface of his potential.

Good times in Jets land

Agreed.

But the OP posed a reasonable question.

I think Geno Smith ALWAYS had this in him. He would make some incredible throws for the Jets.  But he’s a weirdo and was very emotionally underdeveloped, probably still is but has matured some what and isn’t shooting himself in the foot now or getting punched in the face.
 

He had a bad team around him and was asked to be a leader.  He couldn’t handle it. 

[JetBlue]

I'm a sucker for a good comeback story.   It is very easy for guy in his situation to just fade out of the league after his embarresing stint in NY and end his career known as the guy who got his lights punched out by a teammate over $600.   Now he has a chance to change that narrative and actually gain the respect of his peers and prove he can be a starting quarterback in this league; so far he is off to a good start but it is still early.  I personally am rooting for him.  There is something about overcoming adversity (even when it is self inflicted) that just resonates with me. 

[Lupz27]

1 hour ago, 92ShaunEllis92 said:

10 years of being in the league is NOT an out of nowhere ascension. 
 

Its bound to happen as QB needs many years to really master the nuances and speed of the position and many have excelled/improved significantly as older veterans: Rich Gannon, Jim Plunkett, Brad Johnson, R.A. Dickey, Jeff George, Scott Mitchell, and now Geno Smith

But only one was able to win a Cy Young.

[jNYC1]

I know it’s inconvenient but Geno started 4 games last year and had a QB rating of 103 while completing 68% of his passes.

It’s safe to say he shouldn’t have started as rookie coming out of a spread offense.  It’s also safe to say he didn’t do himself any favors in his time with the Jets.  It’s also safe to say that most people have very old tape in their minds when they talk about Geno.

He has been a average to good QB anytime he’s played since leaving the Jets.  His last 9 games he’s played well above average.  

He hasn’t received many opportunities in a league where a bunch of jags receive opportunity after opportunity.

Enough time has passed where it’s an enjoyable story.  Enough time has passed where there is no negative impact to us Jets fans...other than the occasional strays where people point out the lack of success we’ve had in developing QBs.

 

[tfine]

I am happy for him. He got a raw deal here under Rex. Let be honest there is immense pressure with being a Jets QB and he was drafted to a bad team. One memory comes to mind the 2014 Jets/Fins game Rex wouldnt let Geno throw. We rushed for over 200 yards but only scored 13 points. Ground and Pound!  Our record was 2-9.  Kinda felt bad for him. 

[92ShaunEllis92]

See…….Idzik DID know what he was doing after all. Lol 

[Origen]

1 hour ago, 92ShaunEllis92 said:

10 years of being in the league is NOT an out of nowhere ascension. 
 

Its bound to happen as QB needs many years to really master the nuances and speed of the position and many have excelled/improved significantly as older veterans: Rich Gannon, Jim Plunkett, Brad Johnson, R.A. Dickey, Jeff George, Scott Mitchell, and now Geno Smith

I wanna see Geno go exclusively knuckleball.

[Hex]

Geno has Tyler Lockett, DK Metcalf, Rashaad Penny, and an SB coach. He has the tools to unlock the talent he's always had. Plus the starting job for sure, not as some backup. He's got confidence, maturity from 10 years in the league, and a supporting cast. Makes sense he's doing good.

[AFJF]

5 hours ago, Facts said:

Ive been racking my brain trying to figure this out

He went from green puke to seattle elite.

WTF happened?

n

 

Four years sitting behind Rivers, Eli and Russ probably didn't hurt.

[Prodigal Syndicate]

Has Rex commented on Geno's season? 

[jgb]

6 hours ago, SuicidalSince98 said:

Hi douchebag you’re right, it was 4 weeks. Where he led the NFL in passing yards, was completing 68% of his passes, and had 10 total TDs to 3 picks. 

You seem mature

[JiF]

I'm not shocked but kind of surprised at how good he's been. The kid always had immense talent and threw one of the pretty balls you can find.  I was adamant that we ditched Fitz after his "conquering hero" season and went back to Geno.  He's always been more than adequate, he just needed time, a system and weapons.   The year before when they won 3 games, he was throwing to Erick Decker, Jeremy Kerley and Greg Salas.  I think Jace Amaro was 2nd on the team with catches.  It was always in the Jets best interest to see Geno had w/ Marshall, Decker, Enunwa and Anderson and not to be held hostage by Fitz.

Anywho, revisionist for sure, even though at the time I thought it was the right decision, never did I think he could play at this level. 

[rangerous]

who knpws what would have happened if geno started the 2015 instead of fitzy.  he showed some flashes his rookie year.  he always had a good arm just didn't make good decisions on or off the field.  maybe idzik was more on the right track than he's been given credit for.

[maury77]

8 hours ago, MR.GANGGREEN28 said:

I agree.. but also I’m happy for Geno. Takes a lot of resilience to find success this late in a career, pretty fun to witness especially considering we don’t need to care about their draft position anymore.

Agreed. I don't think any of us is taking the position that the Jets letting Geno walk was a mistake, its just nice to see a guy who has been beleaguered throughout his career finding some success. 

[SuicidalSince98]

4 hours ago, jgb said:

You seem mature

[Be_a_Jet]

He said it in one of his press conferences sort of. He was very turnover prone early in career. He said he realized most games are lost not won and he stopped trying to do “too much” aka take chances. 
 

I think that helped build his confidence because he’s basically completing throws at a high rate with that conservative style. More recently I think he’s more comfortable taking chances but it now comes from a good foundation of taking what the team gives him first. 
 

I don’t think he’s taking a team to a Super Bowl or anything but he went from a player who should’ve been out the league to now a starting quarterback who’s at the very least not a bottom of the league starting QB
 

TLDR:

Risky thrower-> conservative thrower-> conservative thrower who will take risks when needed. Makes for not a terrible thrower 

[bostonmajet]

Yep, he is killing it in the FF space. While I am happy for him, this is my problem with people that just love stats. ZW played a great game against Dolphins, but what were his FF numbers? Twice this year, SOJF bashed our QBs about getting garbage stats - and of course, we won both games - LOL. But the truth is, the losing QB often gets better numbers. 

Here is an important number - wins. Seattle and Geno are 2-3. So, if you are a Seattle fan, you may be happy with Geno, but you are not likely to be happy with your team.

I also find it funny that there are those who said, Geno shouldn't have started and sometimes it takes a while for the game to slow down - how many fans on this site have labeled ZW and Saleh busts after 1 year and 5 games? Becton and Mims are busts too - well, maybe, but hey - I guess it is okay if they are Jets.

I have made comments about Mims being very immature in his first couple of years. He is just a kid, how focused was I when I was that age. I get comments like "you are wrong", "wrong", "age has nothing to do with it", etc. No way this board waits 10 years for ZW; we won't wait 1+ years for the rookie HC.

[August]

He always had this in him he just needed to go somewhere to develop. Put 2013/2014 era Geno on this current Jets and we’d be seeing a better player, due to the infrastructure that we have in place today. 

[ZachEY]

1 hour ago, bostonmajet said:

Yep, he is killing it in the FF space. While I am happy for him, this is my problem with people that just love stats. ZW played a great game against Dolphins, but what were his FF numbers? Twice this year, SOJF bashed our QBs about getting garbage stats - and of course, we won both games - LOL. But the truth is, the losing QB often gets better numbers. 

Here is an important number - wins. Seattle and Geno are 2-3. So, if you are a Seattle fan, you may be happy with Geno, but you are not likely to be happy with your team.

I also find it funny that there are those who said, Geno shouldn't have started and sometimes it takes a while for the game to slow down - how many fans on this site have labeled ZW and Saleh busts after 1 year and 5 games? Becton and Mims are busts too - well, maybe, but hey - I guess it is okay if they are Jets.

I have made comments about Mims being very immature in his first couple of years. He is just a kid, how focused was I when I was that age. I get comments like "you are wrong", "wrong", "age has nothing to do with it", etc. No way this board waits 10 years for ZW; we won't wait 1+ years for the rookie HC.

That's why it's good to have advanced stats, that include all kinds of contextual variables.

Football Outsiders has Geno Smith with a DYAR of 482 (2nd) and a DVOA of 33.7 (2nd) whereas Zach Wilson has a DYAR of 19 and a DVOA of -6.2, which are unranked because he hasn't thrown enough passes to qualify.

So, Geno Smith is playing at an elite level this season and Zach Wilson is below average.

They're not comparable, despite what any fans what to justify re: stats.

[OtherwiseHappyinLife]

12 hours ago, ZachEY said:

Sam Darnold through 5 games in 2021: 6 TD, 6 INT, 4 fumbles, 7.49 average Y/A, 85.4 average passer rating

Geno Smith through 5 games in 2022: 9TD, 2 INT, 1 fumble, 8.46 average Y/A, 114.2 average passer rating

Tell me more about how these are the same!

Quick hitting narratives ZachEY.  Glad you pulled the data.  Geno is also killing the eyeball test; Sammy did not last year.

[slats]

2 hours ago, JiFapono said:

I'm not shocked but kind of surprised at how good he's been. The kid always had immense talent and threw one of the pretty balls you can find.  I was adamant that we ditched Fitz after his "conquering hero" season and went back to Geno.  He's always been more than adequate, he just needed time, a system and weapons.   The year before when they won 3 games, he was throwing to Erick Decker, Jeremy Kerley and Greg Salas.  I think Jace Amaro was 2nd on the team with catches.  It was always in the Jets best interest to see Geno had w/ Marshall, Decker, Enunwa and Anderson and not to be held hostage by Fitz.

Anywho, revisionist for sure, even though at the time I thought it was the right decision, never did I think he could play at this level. 

I agree. Fitz was a mirage, Marshall and Decker balled out that year. Geno has a very different career if he doesn’t get himself punched in the face. Unfortunately, he brought that upon himself with his immature entitled routine at the time. He’s also naturally introverted, and was trying to fake it until you make it emulating leaders that he just wasn’t. And people see thru phoniness. 
 
He’s had his share of mishaps that have contributed to his lack of opportunities since. Pete Carroll took him under his wing, though, showed trust in him, and it’s paying off now. I’m happy for him. 
 
And for people talking about the crappy defense Seattle has and playing from behind or garbage time pumping up his stats - that may be true for compiling passing yards and TDs, but does not explain a 75% comp or just two interceptions. He’s playing really well. 

[JiF]

3 minutes ago, slats said:

I agree. Fitz was a mirage, Marshall and Decker balled out that year. Geno has a very different career if he doesn’t get himself punched in the face. Unfortunately, he brought that upon himself with his immature entitled routine at the time. He’s also naturally introverted, and was trying to fake it until you make it emulating leaders that he just wasn’t. And people see thru phoniness. 
 
He’s had his share of mishaps that have contributed to his lack of opportunities since. Pete Carroll took him under his wing, though, showed trust in him, and it’s paying off now. I’m happy for him. 
 
And for people talking about the crappy defense Seattle has and playing from behind or garbage time pumping up his stats - that may be true for compiling passing yards and TDs, but does not explain a 75% comp or just two interceptions. He’s playing really well. 

100% and I'm not like saying the Jets made a mistake long term, I think Geno needed to mature, a lot, so maybe best for everyone but for that season, it was wrong to start Fitz.  That's all.

fwiw, I just looked at his splits. 8 of his 9 TD's have come in the first half.  He actually doesnt have a single TD trailing w/ 4 minutes left go ie; garbage time.

 

 

[Paradis]

14 hours ago, Untouchable said:

Don’t know and don’t really care 

Even if it’s sustainable, it took him a solid decade to reach this point and he’s 32.

He was a turnover prone douchebag when he was here and I have zero regrets over turning the page.

We now have a QB who is 10 years younger and hasn’t even scratched the surface of his potential.

Good times in Jets land

Unnecessary disdain/attitude imo. 

[Zachtomims47]

Why did I think the Seahawks were like 4-1? lol. How are they 2-3 with Geno playing so well? Guess the defense is pretty terrible looking at these scores. 

[hotrodcharlie]

He got a raw deal here. I am rooting for him

[SuicidalSince98]

3 minutes ago, Zachtomims47 said:

Why did I think the Seahawks were like 4-1? lol. How are they 2-3 with Geno playing so well? Guess the defense is pretty terrible looking at these scores. 

Because he’s not good 

[chirorob]

14 hours ago, Facts said:

Ive been racking my brain trying to figure this out

He went from green puke to seattle elite.

WTF happened?

 

He worked at it for years?  He matured from the age of 22 to 32?

Found a system that matches what he does well, and gave him a chance?

[nycdan]

His senior year at WVU was insanely good.  The talent was there.  Some guys just need to get humbled before they can focus on working on their craft and not just expect the talent to carry them.

Nothing more humbling than getting your jaw broken I guess.

Good for Geno.  It's always fun to see a guy do what he's doing as long as he's not a bad guy.  I think Geno's matured a lot so I'm happy for him.

[PepPep]

He's always been good.

[PepPep]

12 hours ago, David Harris said:

Agreed.

But the OP posed a reasonable question.

I think Geno Smith ALWAYS had this in him. He would make some incredible throws for the Jets.  But he’s a weirdo and was very emotionally underdeveloped, probably still is but has matured some what and isn’t shooting himself in the foot now or getting punched in the face.
 

He had a bad team around him and was asked to be a leader.  He couldn’t handle it. 

LOL. He still wears his helmet after the game. What's up with that? Never did get that. 

[raffyD]

He's playing with house money, very loose.

[bostonmajet]

1 hour ago, ZachEY said:

That's why it's good to have advanced stats, that include all kinds of contextual variables.

Football Outsiders has Geno Smith with a DYAR of 482 (2nd) and a DVOA of 33.7 (2nd) whereas Zach Wilson has a DYAR of 19 and a DVOA of -6.2, which are unranked because he hasn't thrown enough passes to qualify.

So, Geno Smith is playing at an elite level this season and Zach Wilson is below average.

They're not comparable, despite what any fans what to justify re: stats.

The stat I care about is 2-0.

FYI - any analytics model has its assumptions, strengths, and flaws - like points scored when other team goes into prevent - how good their OL and running game are, etc. While I am happy that Geno has appeared to grow up and is having a good season; i just find it interesting that when Zach and/or Joe throw well it is garbage time even if they win; when someone else throws well in a loss they have made it. I also find it interesting that some fans will call a jet player a bust before his plays a down, but we are good waiting 10 years for Geno.

[Larz]

Maturity. He’s still a good athlete and always threw a pretty spiral, just needed to grow up